Home Country Spouse Visa Refused, What next?

I'm posting on behalf of a friend, who left the UK to apply from home and got his application refused yesterday. While I always support the the idea of returning home to seek entry clearance, sometimes one need to think twice before boarding the plane home.
I have tried to upload the refusal letter itself after a careful editing of the identifiers but unfortunately, there's no facility for uploading files on this forum yet. I hereby quote directly from the refusal.

''You have applied for an entry clearance as a spouse to the UK for 27 months, blah blah blah. I have considered your application under para 281 and 320 of the UK immigration rules.

Decision

I have carefully considered your application and am satisfied you met and married your wife in the UK on XX/XX/2010. However, I note that your passport was issued in the UK on XX/December, 2009 and that you have admitted to being in the UK with no valid leave to enter for over 7 years. You have failed to provide a previous passport to show how you enter the UK.

I note your solicitor has stated that you entered the UK illegally with no valid passport or visa. You appear to have entered the UK clandestinely. You have provided no evidence of how you supported yourself in the UK over this lengthy period. I note you have two children in XXXXXXX(home country) and although you claimed to support them financially from time to time you have provided no evidence of hoe you have done this.

I have also considered your application under paragraph 320(11) of the HC395: I am satisfied that this conduct is consistent with that described in entry clearance guidance chapter 26.18(found at http://blah blah blah) as having contrived in a significant way to frustrate the intentions of the rules because. Entering the UK over 7 years ago, you have no evidence that you have tried to regularise your stay there. You have had ample oppurtunity to approach the Immigration Authorities in the UK and have failed to do so. Therefore I have refused this application under paragraph 320(11) of HC395.

In reaching my decision, I have also taken account of the Human Right Act. Whilst I accept that tbis decision constitutes limited interference with Article 8, I remind myself that this is a qualified right, and I am satisfied that the decision is justified and proportionate in the interests od maintaining an effective immigration control. I am also aware that there is nothing in English Law which prohibits the sponsor from travelling to XXX and enjoying family life with you in that country.

Any advise will go a long way, thanks.

IMHO postings like this are not beneficial as each case is decided on its OWN merits.
People should not rely on other cases e.g In my own case everybody told me that in my circumstances a spousal visa would not be issued and this advice is still given by posters on this site but a spousal visa was still issued.Even acccording to Immigration rules a visa would NOT be issued but it was!
There are always exceptions

postings like this are not beneficial as each case is decided on its OWN merits.

IMHO, your statements are self contradictory. You just said ''each case is decided on its own merit''. So why do you always tell everybody to go home, no matter the facts of their case?

I'm not trying to mislead anyone! But what I am saying is Mr X's success story is not a yardstick to measure Mr Y's application, while Mr N's failure should not be used to judge another story. I will advice any overstayer or illegal entrant to go home and apply but always excercise caution and seek proper legal help when there are more than meet the eye. Thats the point I'm making mate, I posted that to prove how jobsworth ECO's could prejudice someone's application based on his past history.

If you read that post, you'll see that all the stories about children and past entry are not part of the requirements to be met when applying for a spouse visa. Representation was submitted which explained how he entered the UK in full detail and the ECO acknowledge that. He didn't mention any part of the rules/requirement that was not met. So we all concluded that the ECO prejudice his application based on his past history.

Its still my opinion that overstayers/illegal entrants should go back home and apply but excercise caution where the case is not straightforward and nothing can change that.

mochyn wrote:IMHO postings like this are not beneficial as each case is decided on its OWN merits.
People should not rely on other cases e.g In my own case everybody told me that in my circumstances a spousal visa would not be issued and this advice is still given by posters on this site but a spousal visa was still issued.Even acccording to Immigration rules a visa would NOT be issued but it was!
There are always exceptions

So judging by the success of your own case, my mate shouldn't have been refused and you shouldn't have been granted if we judge by my mate's story.

All I'm saying is people should not leave ECO's with an excuse to refuse, seek proper legal help and think twice when cases involves criminal record or a very bad immigration history. I'm not saying they shouldn't go home.

HRY2005 wrote:

mochyn wrote:IMHO postings like this are not beneficial as each case is decided on its OWN merits.
People should not rely on other cases e.g In my own case everybody told me that in my circumstances a spousal visa would not be issued and this advice is still given by posters on this site but a spousal visa was still issued.Even acccording to Immigration rules a visa would NOT be issued but it was!
There are always exceptions

So judging by the success of your own case, my mate shouldn't have been refused and you shouldn't have been granted if we judge by my mate's story.

All I'm saying is people should not leave ECO's with an excuse to refuse, seek proper legal help and think twice when cases involves criminal record or a very bad immigration history. I'm not saying they shouldn't go home.

If you continue your thread then people should not overstay or come here illegally, so the ECO has no reason to refuse

Thanks for that post HRY2005, pple should be very cautious before just packing and going home, pple should get professional legal advice before going or before even making a decision.. A lot of pple here just jump and say its easier to go and apply from home, sme even post in a way suggesting DL is a waste of time, u wait years blah blah. Some times its worth that wait, every case is different.

mochyn wrote:
If you continue your thread then people should not overstay or come here illegally, so the ECO has no reason to refuse

Well! thats not the basis of this debate Mochyn, thats a different subject and you know it.